1. Reason for revision

It is necessary to promptly revise the Enforcement Decree in order to provide the items delegated by the Act and its enforcement, as the Overseas Agricultural and Forest Resources Development Cooperation Act has been revised (Law No. 19756; promulgated on October 24, 2023; implemented on October 25, 2024) to provide that when the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Director of the Korea Forest Service order the developers of overseas agricultural or forestry resources to bring overseas agricultural and forestry resources into Korea, the conditions of the importation order should include a provision on just compensation for losses incurred by their fulfillment of the importation order.

2. Main contents

a. It includes projects related to agricultural and forestry industry inputs in overseas agricultural and forest resource development (Article 2 of the draft).

1) It includes business projects related to agricultural inputs necessary for securing overseas agricultural resources, such as agricultural machinery, materials, facilities, pesticides, fertilizers, feeds, and animal drugs.

2) It includes business projects related to forestry industry inputs necessary for securing overseas forestry resources, such as forestry machinery, materials, facilities, pesticides, fertilizers, feeds, and animal drugs.

b. It provides details concerning requests for the submission of data for the development of comprehensive plans for international agriculture or forestry cooperation projects, reflection of the results of evaluations of international development cooperation, and changes to the plans (Newly established in Article 4-3 and Article 4-4 of the draft).

1) It provides that the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, and Forestry or the Director of the Korea Forest Service may request agencies or public institutions that are under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, and Forestry or the Korea Forest Service, and which implement international agricultural or forestry cooperation projects, to submit the necessary data in order to prepare a comprehensive plan for international agricultural or forestry cooperation projects. 

2) It stipulates that the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry or the Director of the Korea Forest Service should reflect the results of the evaluation of international development cooperation pursuant to Article 16 of the Framework Act on International Development Cooperation when formulating a comprehensive plan for international agricultural or forestry cooperation projects.

3) It provides that the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry or the Director of the Korea Forest Service may modify the comprehensive plan for international agricultural or forestry cooperation projects when it is deemed necessary due to changes in domestic and international economic conditions or domestic or international conditions related to international agricultural or forestry cooperation projects. 

c. It stipulates that the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry and the Director of the Korea Forest Service should monitor the operators of overseas agricultural or forestry development projects by designating monitoring entities (Article 9 of the draft).

1) The Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry or the Director of the Korea Forest Service may conduct monitoring of the project progress of overseas agricultural or forest resource development companies. 

2) The Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry or the Director of the Korea Forest Service may designate the Overseas Agricultural Resources Development Association, the Overseas Forest Resources Development Association, the Korea Rural Community Corporation, or the Korea Forestry Promotion Agency as entities for monitoring services. 

3) Necessary matters regarding the monitoring standards, procedures, methods, contents, etc. may be prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

d. Provisions on the requirements for import order and the procedure for ordering the importation of overseas agricultural or forest resources (Article 27 of the draft)

1) "A case involving a serious crisis” as defined by the Presidential Decree, such as a sharp increase in prices or a shortage of domestic agricultural, livestock, or forest products due to war, internal conflict, natural disaster, or similar emergencies," among the requirements for an import order, is defined as a case in which the prices of agricultural, livestock, or forest products have risen sharply or where there is a serious shortage of such products, having or threatening to have a serious impact on the national economy. 

2) "Emergency," among the requirements for an import order, is defined as an urgent financial or economic crisis, such as a disaster under the Framework Act on the Management of Disasters and Safety, overseas disasters, or a sharp rise in exchange rates or international commodity prices. 

3) Import orders are to be issued in writing, stating the overseas agricultural or forestry resources to be imported, the quantity to be imported, the import price, the time of importation, the reason for and contents of the order, the name and representative of the obligor, and information concerning just compensation for losses incurred during the execution of the import order.

4) The person who has been given the importation order should submit his/her implementation plan to the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Fisheries or the Director of the Forest Service as prescribed by the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Fisheries or the Director of the Forest Service. 

5) The Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry or the Director of the Forest Service may consult on whether to issue an importation order, and the matters necessary for consultation will be prescribed by an ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry.

e. Hearing of opinions on import orders (Newly established in Article 27-2 of the draft) 

1) When the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry or the Director of the Korea Forest Service issues an importation order, the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry should hear in advance the opinions of the developers regarding the conditions of importation of the overseas agricultural or forestry resources concerned, including the nature of the overseas agricultural or forest resources to be imported, the quantity to be imported, the price and timing of importation, and just compensation for losses caused by the fulfillment of the importation order, as well as other related matters about which the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry or the Director of the Korea Forest Service deems it necessary to hear the opinions of the developers. 

2) When the Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry or the Director of the Korea Forest Service listens to the opinions of domestic producers, consumers, and related experts, the method of submitting opinions should be published on the website of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs and Forestry or the Korea Forest Service in advance and made available for viewing for at least 7 days (3 days in urgent cases). 

f. Criteria, etc. for compensation of losses due to importation orders (Newly established in Article 27-3 of the draft) 

1) The import price will be an amount equivalent or comparable to the international transaction price at the time of the import order. The transportation costs and incidental expenses will include all expenses incurred for importation, plus any other expenses caused by losses incurred due to the import order, and this sum will be the amount recognized by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs or the head of the Korea Forest Service within the extent that there is a significant causal relationship.

2) Matters necessary for the calculation of compensation based on the criteria for compensation of losses will be prescribed by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 

g. Procedures and methods of compensation for losses caused by an importation order (Newly established in Article 27-4 of the draft) 

1) Any person who intends to receive compensation for losses should submit a claim for payment of compensation for losses prescribed under the Ordinance of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs or the Director of the Forest Service, together with documentary evidence of the details and amount of their losses. 

2) The Minister of Agriculture, Food, Forestry and Rural Affairs or the Director of the Forest Service should decide whether to pay compensation for losses and the amount of compensation within 60 days from the date on which the claim is received for payment of compensation for losses, unless there are extraordinary reasons for not doing so. 

3) The Minister of Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, and Forestry or the Director of the Forest Service should notify the claimant of the amount to be paid in compensation, the method of payment, and the reason(s) for the decision within 10 days of the date of notifying the claimant of the decision. If it is decided to pay compensation for losses, they should pay compensation for losses within 30 days of the date of notification, unless there are extraordinary reasons for not doing so.